Historical metro ride takes you back to the 1970s

Prague's metro system announced the dates for the upcoming historical metro train rides, and as space is quite limited advance tickets are essential.

The dates are July 16 at Depo Hostivař, Aug. 20 at Depo Kačerov and Sept, 17 at Depo Zličín. The tours are at 10 a,m. and 2 p.m., and take about two hours. Tickets are Kč 150, with children under 10 free. People should arrive five minutes ahead of the tour time. Latecomers will not be accommodated and tickets will not be refunded.

The Prague Transit Company refers to these events as “adventure tourism,” and they start with a guided tour (in Czech) of various technical aspects of train operation and maintenance and an overview of the train fleet and a history of various metro projects.

Aside from seeing the depot, there is also a train ride that goes onto special track sections and technical parts of the tracks and tunnels not usually seen by the public. Turnabouts, track switches and test tracks are included in the routes. The trains for the rides will be the older models from the metro archives. They are used for special occasions and also make appearances in movies.

The three days are all different, as each of the tours covers a different metro line. Depo Hostivař is on the A line, or Green Line, which opened in September 1978, although the station at Depo Hostivař didn't open until 2004 in a relatively unpopulated area.

Depo Kačerov opened on the C Line, or Red Line, in 1974 and is one of the metro's original stations. It served as a depot for the A and C lines until 1985.

Depo Zličín serves the B Line, or Yellow Line, and opened in 1994, while the line itself dates to 1985.